Dawn Leslie Lenz

Dawn Leslie Lenz has been writing fiction since the age of eight when she penned a one-page story about a tiny girl who lived in a tree stump. Today, she still writes fiction with a fantastical element. Dawn is a Master of Fine Arts graduate of the Low-Residency Creative Writing Program at the University of New Orleans, traveling to Brunnenburg Castle in Dorf Tirol, Italy and Madrid, Spain to study writing as well as many other destinations on her own. Her work has appeared in journals, books, online, and elsewhere, including Truck, The Rambler, Mirror, Mirror: Reflections on the Way We Look (Midmarch Arts Press 2004), and Springfield Magazine, among others. Her short story “Zephyr of Ashes” was a bestseller in August 2011 with her publisher Untreed Reads. Her short story “She Flies” was released as an eBook in 32 countries through Untreed Reads Publishing.

Irving Ambrosi forgot to comb his hair again. He forgot most basic things like eating, bathing, and changing clothes. He wore his stained button down shirt from yesterday topped with a tweed sportcoat. But he never forgot to put in his dentures. He didn’t want her to see him without his teeth. He swiped a hand over his disheveled white hair and hurried into [...]

The cranes descended from the sky in droves of white. Lana watched the birds swoop from the cloudless blue to the clearing in a massive sheet. The wind from the birds’ descent whipped her dress out behind her like a white beacon of hope in this desolate place. All around the clearing, black scars of fire ruined the trees, their limbs bare, branches broken. T[...]

Blythe jumped onto her mare’s back, arranging cumbersome skirts and sitting astride the black horse without a saddle. The first light of dawn peeked over the hills. Blythe's heart ached as she looked back at her sleeping home. If she hadn't mistakenly revealed her unique ability, she wouldn't have to leave.
Riding Storm without a saddle made Blythe most h[...]

Wind rocketed through the trees causing ice-laden branches to shudder and sway. Phi stood at the edge of the frozen pond with her black hair whipping about her face, bundled in an ivory coat and red scarf. She wore no hat; cold bit her ears like sharp teeth. Phi knew she might not come back from this, but she almost had it. She could feel it in her bones[...]